Carpet holding device



July 15 J. C. OWENS CARPET HOLDING DEVICE Filed Aug. 30, 1948 2SHEETS-SHEET l "WWII/[1111111114 y.,

i? TTORNEYS.

July 15, 1952 J. c. owENs 2,602,952

CARPET HOLDING DEVICE Filed Aug. :50, 194s 2 SHEETS- SHEET 2 l INVENTOR.Je'sse C. Uwe/vs wrok/wrm Patented July 15, 1952 FNAC - :CARPETHOLDING-.DEVICE Jesse C. Owens, Los Angeles, Calif. Application.nugustasd 1948,"seria1Na 46,773

My invention relates to carpetlaying and'holding devices and included'inthe'o'bjectso'f my irrvention are:

First, to provide a device of this "character which may be incorporatedin manyfof the tools and fittings employed in laying for'holdingcarpets;for example, in Knee Kickers," "Pole Stretchers, Stay Tackers," drying'andstretch- Aing frames, display .racks and marginal'securin'g strips.

Second, to provide va deviceof this .class which involves a tooth orprong member of novel form so arranged as to engage the bac-kingof acarpet without damage to the pile.

Third, to providea device fof thisA class which is particularly adaptedforiincorporationinknee kickers, or pole stretohers of the type"disclosed in my prior Patent No. V2,184,019i'ssu'ed.December 19, 1939,entitled Carpet Stretcher.

Fourth, to provide a Vdevice Vof tliisfch'aracter which, whenincorporated innrar'ginal strips Taf-- fords an invisible means kfory"securing the 'edge of the carpet, whether such ledge A.is covered by'a base mold or the "base :moldfis omitted.

Fifth, to provide on thewholei'a novelly confstructed marginal stripwhich permits the edge of the rug to be doubled upon itself, `not lonlyto strengthen the edge, but also r'to Ainsure 'fasmooth rand attractivefinish.

Sixth, to provide a marginal fst'rip 'which `incorporates its oWn meansfor a'stenin'gto an underlying surface whether such surface `be `Woodflooring or composition material fappli'ed 'to 'lthe margin of theiloor.

Seventh, to provid'eralmargin'al f's'trp fwhi'ch may be arranged toholdfa'nd retain "the margins of underpaddingas Well asfthe carpetitself.

With the above and other objectsin view', vas will appear hereinafter,reference 'is'di'rectd "to the accompanying drawings, iniwh'ich Figure 1is 'a side view of a knee kicker incorporating my novel carpet engagingdevice.

Figure 2 is a bottom view thereof with a portion of the spacer platebroken away. i

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional View through 3-3 of Figure1.

Figure '4 'is 'an enlarged fragmentary viev.r of the base plateincorporating my n ovel `carpet rengaging prong. i

Figure Bris a sectional `view thereof iitaken through .5--45 of Figure4. y

Figure y6is a fragmentarysectional view 'show- 'ing flooring, anadjacent Wall, underp'adding, a vcarpet and amarginal strip.incorporating `my invention.

Figure 7 is a 4fragmentaryplan View of my marginal strip. Y

Figure 8 is a fragmentary 'side view thereof;

Figure 9 is similar toFigure but y:shows an alternative form of marginalstrip incorporating my'invention. l

Figure 10 illustrates my invention adapted to 'is claims. (c1. ifs-16)use :as a'carp'et'hanger employed for the lpurpose -of drying ordisplaying carpets.

Figure 11.is an enlarged View taken from IgI--l I Y lof yFigure :10 withthe carpet removed'illustrating ythe-"clamping jaws employed to holdythe carpet. Figure 12 illustrates my invention as applied to a carpetdrying frame. I y

Figure. 13 is'afloottom view ofa'carpet stretcher .and staytackerincorporating myinvention. Reference `is'iirst directed to Figures1 to 5, inclusive. The structure here shown is known Acommercially as aKnee Kicker. Such tool in,- cludes a tube l having a head member L2defining a'ilat rectangular or square undersurface., `pref- 'ferablyslightly recessed, Vto receivea base plate 3 vsecured .fby screws Thebase plate is provided 'withaa plurality of special prong elements 5which -are .stamped from 'thematerial of the baseplate -and bent 'atright angles thereto. tionof these Lprong elements constitutes an-important Ypart of my invention andwill be de- .'scribed in moredetailher'einafter. .i

:Aspa'cer plate l having slots "l therein to clear the 'prong elementsis attachedtothe head vmember 2 by adjustment screws `23; The adjustmentscrews v8 are rotatively mounted in the plate and threaded in the head.Preferably these .screws are `accessihlefrom the top of 'the head membersofthat the spacerplate may beadjusted to regulate the 'extent lto whichthe prong elements lprotrude. 1

The -kn'ee kicker 'includes va stem V9 which `fits lnfthe `.tube A'Ivandfvvhich receives aferrule l0. V'Ilie `ferrule vis designed toholdiand secure -a pad structure lil Adesigned to be engaged by onesknee. .Referenceis now directed tojligures V6 to `8,in elusive. Theconstruction here shown 'illustrates theapplicatio'n of my novel carpetengaging `prong 'lementtoa :marginal strip 2 l Marginalv stripsareiplaced adjacent the base board of .ar'oomff'or fthepurpose ofsecuring the margins of arcarrpet. `My marginal -strip y2 l is -i formedof sheet-metal from Whichis stamped a series o'fprongel'emerits 5 as inthe first described structure.` v`Also "stamped/from the marginal str-ipand '-bentnthe 'opposite' direction from the prongsrfareisecur-ing lteeth 22T-and 7253.' The teeth-f2 fl ShOWlaSyd-S- `posed ln planes atvvright angles '-to theprong-'sf whereas "'the'teeth 23 "are shown asdisposed planes parallelto the rprorig'sliru Y Y The-.prong elementsfare specially-formed to @provide an improved carpet engagingfunction.

The construc- 3 it is intended that the point penetrate the backing B ofa carpet VC until the notch 25 is essentially coplanar with the backing.When in this position the prong may engage the strip of carpet withouthaving to force the carpet either toward the point or towards the baseof the prong. When the prong is used in the knee kicker or similardevice the spacer plate 6 is adjusted so that the notches 25 of theseveral prongs will engage the carpet backing when the spacer platerests on the pile P of the carpet.

When the prong is employed in the marginal strip its proportions aresuch that the notch 25 engages the backing B. It is customary to usesubpadding S which raises the backing to an appropriate height forengagement by the notch 25 when the marginal strip is fastened to thefloorlng. In such cases it is convenient and highly desirable to foldthe margin of the carpet, in which case the prongs are forced throughtwo thicknesses of the carpet and thus insure proper and dependableengagement so that there is no danger of the carpet pulling loose. Inpractice the carpet is placed over the prongs and a rubber mallet isemployed to drive the carpet downwardly thereover.

Reference is now directed to Figure 9. In this construction a marginalstrip 3| is employed in which are formed major prongs 32 and minorprongs 33. The minor prongs are suiliciently short to engage thereinforcing of the subpadding S whereas the major prongs are high enoughto engage the carpet backing B. As an alternative the marginal strip 3|is shown fastened by nails 34. However, the teeth 22 or 23 may beemployed. Furthermore, it is preferred to stagger the prongs in themanner shown in the base plate 3 of the knee kicker.

The marginal strip 2| or 3|, or a variation thereof, may be employed forother purposes; for example, it may be incorporated in a rug hanging ordisplay structure such as shown in Figures 10` and 11. In this case amarginal strip 4| is provided with two rows of staggered prongs of equallength. The marginal strip is fastened to a mounting bar 42 which inturn is secured to a jaw of a tong structure 43. The opposite jaw may beprovided with a second marginal strip 44 which may have prongs 5, butpreferably is provlded with rounded tongues 45 designed to vbear againstbut not penetrate the backing. It is preferred to mount a carpet or rugso thatthe pile faces the tongues 45. The tongues are thus capable ofpenetrating the pile Without crushing or damaging the strands of thepile. 'The tong structure 43 may be supported on a suitable arm 46adjustably mounted on a pole 41.

Reference is directed to Figure 12 which illustrates diagrammaticallythat the marginal strips, such as the marginal strip 4|, may beincorporated in a frame structure 48 designed to engage the margins of arug or carpet for the purpose of holding its form while drying.

Reference is now directed to Figure 13,-which is a substantiallydiagrammatical bottom view of a carpet stretcher and stay taoker morefully disclosed in my copending application mentioned hereinbefore. u y

A Pole Stretcher" comprises Aa pair Aof, head members 5| and 52 whichare adapted to be connected by a sectional pole structure 53 whichincorporates a lever means (not shown) for the purpose of advancing oneof the head members relative to the other. In order to enablesuch headmember to be released without relieving the stretch in the carpet, aStay Tacker 54 is provided on the pole structure which engages thecarpet until a new bite is obtained. The carpet engaging elements of theheads 5| and 52, as well as the stay tacker, may be essentially the sameas shown on the knee kicker in Figures 1 to 5 inclusive; that is, myprong elements 5 are incorporated therein in a manner similar to that ofFigures 1 to 5 and spacer plates similar to the spacer plate 6 areemployed to regulate the depth of penetration of the prongs.

Having fully described my invention, it is to be understood that I donot wish to be limited to the details herein set forth, but my invention1s of the full scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A carpet engaging marginal strip comprising: a base strip of sheetmetal adapted to underlie amargin of a rug; integral sheet metal prongsbent upwardly from said base strip and adapted to penetrate a foldedmargin of a carpet to engage and bear edgewise with the underlying andoverlying portions of the backing of said carpet; each of said prongsbeing tapered to a point, one edge being obtusely inclined, smoothedged,convex at its root portion and concave at its extended portion, theother edge being acutely inclined, concave at its root and having acarpetbacking retainer notch adjacent its extremity.

2. A means for securing the margins of a carpet and underlying pad,comprising: a strip of sheet metal; minor prongs bent upwardly from saidstrip and adapted to penetrate the margin of said underlying pad; andmajor prongs also bent upwardly from said strip and adapted to penetratethe margin of said carpet projecting beyond said pad;.each of said majorand minor prongs being tapered to a point, one edge being obtuselyinclined, smooth-edged, convex at its root portion and concave at itsextended portion, the other edge being acutely inclined concave at itsroot and having a carpet-backing retainer notch adjacentV its extremity.

3.. A carpet engaging device, including: a sheet metalplate adapted toconfront a surface of a carpet; a plurality of integral prong membersextending from said plate and edgewise inclined, each of said prongsbeing tapered to a point, one edge being obtusely inclined, smooth,convex at its root portion and concave at its extended portion; theother edge being acutely inclined, concave at its root .end and having acarpet-backing retaining notch adjacent its extremity.

'Y vJESSE C. OWENS.

'y REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the lfileof this' patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 169,006 Justh Oct. 19, 1875196,664,v l yHavell Oct. 30, 1877 569,525 Sullivan Cot. 13, 1896 665,855Warner Jan. 8, 1901 1,089,878. Steinhauser Mar. 10, 1914 2,184,019 OwensDec. 17, 1939 2,325,766 Gisondi Aug. 3, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Number-YCountry Date l 6,8712 Great Britain of 1910 .14,751' Great Britain of1899 50,374 Switzerland of v1910 I 630,088 France Aug. 9, 1927

